Pope Leo XIV has called for greater accountability in the design, development and use of artificial intelligence, saying AI cannot be considered morally neutral. In posts shared on X on June 25, highlighting themes from his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the Pope said AI systems should respect human dignity and serve the common good.

“We cannot consider AI to be morally neutral,” the Pope wrote. He added that every AI tool reflects the choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores, optimizes and how it classifies people and situations.

According to the Pope, ethical discernment cannot be limited to asking whether AI is being used for good or bad purposes. Instead, it must also evaluate and analyze how these AI systems are designed and what assumptions about people and society are built into AI systems through the data they are trained on and the models that guide them.

The Pope also stressed the importance of accountability and believes that responsibilities should be clearly defined for those who design, develop, deploy and use AI systems to make decisions that affect people’s lives.

He further argued that it should include mechanisms to identify who is accountable for AI-assisted decisions, justify those decisions, monitor their impact, challenge them where necessary, and provide redress for any harm caused.

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